Arizona Sunsets - Sam Hubbard

XXXXIV

Honestly, the ride home was just a blurry memory for Liz. She had stood there for a few moments, staring in the direction Sam had gone. The hope that he would come back had taken hold of her, but she also knew it wouldn't happen.

Eventually, her body overcame her heart, and she walked towards the entrance. James looked quite concerned when she reached him, immediately pulling her into a tight embrace, which drained Liz of her last strength.

With his arm around her, James took her to the car. He knew that no words in the world could somehow cheer her up at the moment, and showing her that he was still there for her was the best he could do.

Sighing, he stopped in front of Liz's apartment building and looked at her with concern. "Are you sure I can leave you alone? I really don't feel good about it," he asked, having offered a few minutes earlier to stay with Liz, which she graciously declined.

But Liz declined again. "I think I want to be alone for a bit. I need to come to terms with the fact that he won't be there every evening from now on, and the more I delay it, the worse it will get. But thank you," she gave him a sad smile as she unbuckled and got out of the car.

"You know you can call me anytime if you don't want to be alone anymore, right?" James threw her another concerned look from the car window. "Don't worry, Jim. I'll survive," Liz tried to sound funny, but it almost sounded desperate, as if she couldn't quite convince herself.

She waved goodbye once more before unlocking the door and entering the building. As quietly as possible, she sneaked up the stairs. If her mother heard that she was back, she would definetly make sure Liz wasn't alone.

Luckily, she managed to enter the apartment unnoticed, and as soon as the door closed behind her, she sank to the floor with a sigh. Of course, it wasn't the first time she experienced heartache, but she had never felt such loneliness and pain, such a sense of longing.

She already yearned for Sam's strong arms, pulling her into one of his strength-giving hugs. His soft lips leaving tender kisses on her skin. His loving touches, triggering that unique tingling in her body. His scent, instantly giving her a sense of being home and security.

How much she missed everything about him.

Tears streamed down her face as she looked at the silver sunflower dangling from her wrist. What she would do to not miss him...

Determined, she pushed herself off the floor, kicked her shoes into the corner, and picked up her laptop from the dining table. She sat down on the sofa, started the laptop, and wiped the tears from her cheek. Google had just opened when her fingers were already moving over the keys. Cincinnati Art Job

Liz couldn't say how much time had passed when her phone suddenly rang. Her heart raced as she read his name on the screen, and she immediately dropped the brushes, wiped the paint on her hands on her shirt, and grabbed her phone.

"Sam?" She answered the call. "Liz, hey," Sam's voice sounded from the other end of the line, immediately bringing a bit of healing to her. "Did you arrive?" Liz inquired.

"Yeah, just walked through the front door," Sam confirmed, and a loud bark could be heard in the background. "Yeah, Henry, I'm happy to see you too. I'll properly greet you later, okay? I'm on the phone right now," his voice sounded slightly muffled, probably trying to cover the phone's microphone.

"Sorry. My dog is pretty happy that I'm back," now his voice was clear again. Liz smiled. "I totally understand him," she replied. Sam sighed. "How are you?"

"Quite okay. I'm trying not to think about it too much. How about you? How is it being back in Ohio?" She returned the question. "It would be better if I could have taken you with me. I already miss you terribly," he admitted.

"I miss you too. My mind still thinks you'll come through the door any second. It's weird without you here," she replied. "I wish I could. You have no idea how much I wish that," he murmured before sighing again.

"I unfortunately have to hang up again. Firstly, I have a dog feeling neglected, and my mother invited me for dinner later to finally see me again. And I still need to unpack. I... I just wanted to hear your voice," Sam sounded like he felt really guilty about ending the conversation so quickly.

"Sure, no problem. Spend time with your family. We can talk when we both have time," Liz replied. "Liz, promise me you'll call me if you're not okay, okay?" Sam sounded a little worried. "Of course, Sam. Don't worry about me and enjoy your time with your family."

"Okay. I love you, Liz," he didn't sound entirely convinced. "I love you too, Sam," she replied before ending the call. Sighing, she stared at the open bottle of whiskey next to the canvas. Was it time to find out if whiskey really healed all wounds?

She got pretty far with her canvas, living in her own world while occasionally taking small sips of whiskey. But she had to admit that after each sip, she felt even worse than before when suddenly the doorbell rang.

She was pretty sure it had to be one of her friends because not many people knew they could ring the studio if Liz didn't open her apartment door. Sighing, she pressed the button to open the door and stood by the staircase railing.

To her surprise, all four of them climbed the stairs and hugged her one after the other before entering the studio. "What are you all doing here?" she asked, confused, as her friends distributed the things they had brought on the small table in the room.

"Sam texted us that he doesn't want you to spend the evening alone and asked if we could come by. So we thought we'd spend the evening with you and bring some things to make you feel better soon," Mia explained and handed her a large bucket of chocolate ice cream. "This is from me," she explained.

"I brought pizza for all of us," Ben explained, pointing to the pizza boxes on the table. "I made a playlist for us to scream out the pain," Ava held her phone up.

"And I brought alcohol, but it seems you've already started without us," James nodded towards the whiskey bottle next to the canvas. Liz shrugged before turning to the others. "You can't imagine how much I love you all right now." Tears welled up in her eyes.

"We all know we can't replace Sam, but we're trying our best to cheer you up anyway, okay?" Mia put her arm around her and pulled her into a sideways hug.

friends 🫶

tbh the more chapters i write for this story the more i fall in love with it and don't want it to end but everything has to end sometime....at least four (i hope) chapters left (with surprise at the end🤫)

Hope you'll have an amazing start into the weekend

WHO DEY 🧡